After typing over 6000 words today, I have no idea why I have decided to write a post as I sit here eating a well-earned bowl of spaghetti bolognese. Well, it wasn’t 6000 words of coursework or anything that required too much thinking, but 6000 words of logging. You should know what logging is from previous posts (my dear loyal readers)  but essentially it is typing up rushes (which are what the raw video files are called in TV world) so that producers can skim through the document and select appropriate clips for the final cut of a programme. 

With the snap election being called, poor journalists across the UK were forced into cancelling leave and thrown into the election madness. It is a good time for people like me who are looking to enter the world of journalism,  because many teams are in need of an extra pair of hands over the next few weeks. As I had freelanced for a few days at ITV’s On Assignment and Tonight teams over the past year, they asked me to come in and help with research and logging as they work on a number of election episodes. 

For the past few days I have actually been doing more research than logging. Whether it is writing up documents of stats and facts to prepare producers for interviews or doing something called archive research. This is when you dig deep into the bowels of the ITN database for clips fron the past. It is quite interesting to see the range of things they have covered and how all the teams within the company is able to access this archive. Of course, they also use this archive to make money. If an outside network wants to use their footage then they will have to cough up around £500 per minute. 

Working on elections stuff is interesting, sometimes you get to hear people’s views and opinions before anyone else and it is great to be part of a team that is made up of many different freelancers as there is a further networking opportunity. Perhaps with a cup of tea in hand and a smile on my face, I can land myself another contract. 

Until Next Time

A Worried Student 

14 thoughts on “Let’s Type a Bit More”

  1. So, you’re transcribing video footage? Can’t get Alexa or Google Home or some Deepmind tool to do that yet? Or are they not accurate enough — or maybe the languages aren’t there? Noise?

    6000 words — sheesh — 10-15 days that and you’ve have a novel.

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    Liked by 1 person

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